A lot of people assume that recycling is somewhat useful, but not necessarily very effective. I think this partially stems from the fact that recycling is not always profitable by itself.

Here’s an article with some good facts: The truth about recycling

  • Using the US as an example, recycling reduces CO2 emissions by an estimated 49 million tons per year, of about 1.5 billion total, which equals a reduction of 3.3%.  This is a big deal for the worlds largest polluter.
  • The above reduction in CO2 is roughly equivalent to taking 8.3 million cars off the road in the US.
  • Quote: “Recycling aluminium can reduce energy consumption by as much as 95%“
  • Quote: “Savings for other materials are lower but still substantial: about 70% for plastics, 60% for steel, 40% for paper and 30% for glass.“

So, as we can see, recycling is obviously a worthwhile venture.